Toddler Development Observation

Toddler Learning and Development
Introduction
Unlike adolescents and adults, growth and development is different in infants and toddlers. Observations from the physical, cognitive and perceptual development show that toddlers and infants grow and develop at a faster rate than adults. The physical, cognitive and motor development in infants and toddlers is higher than the same development in adults. This paper is an analysis and interpretation of an observation conducted with an aim to understand the growth and development of toddlers and infants. It explains an observation of an infant boy named Taylor who is 8 months old. Taylor was born in North Carolina and has been living with his parents since he was born. In this observation, which

After the first two 20 minute sessions observing Taylor’s physical development, the following two 20-minute sessions were on Taylor’s cognitive aspects of development. At first, Taylor didn’t show any interest in me. He seemed puzzled by my appearance and would frequently look at me. However, he seemed to have a good understanding of his mother. He would smile at her and was seen frequently lifting his hands when his mother came towards him. After some time, his mother gave him a piece of an apple. However, instead of putting it in his mouth as could be expected, he took some time to observe this new object that his mother gave him. He actually did not eat the fruit until his mother directed his hand towards his mouth. Once he tasted it, his mother left and he continued eating on his

Cognitive abilities enable children to process the sensory information that they collect from the environment. According to Wood, Smith and Grossniklaus (2012), Piaget defined cognitive development as the progressive reorganization of the mental processes that results in biological experience and maturation. As numerous researchers have explained, children normally undergo many changes from birth to adolescents, most of them being growth related. According to Cook (2005), the changes in thinking is what researchers call cognitive development. In toddlers, cognitive development is observed through the early use of tools and objects, the child’s behavior when objects are moved in front of them and their understanding when objects and when people are in their environment. As observed with Taylor, he could easily tell that someone new had come in his house and he did not respond to me the way he responded to his mother. Cognitive development during childhood plays a vital role in their future abilities and